Indian Dress

Why India Once Led The Fashion Industry

India led the fashion world in the 16th and 17th centuries through cotton fabric, design motifs, and its customer-centric market system.
de Heem books

The 17th-Century Dutch Version of Bookstagram

Jan Davidszoon de Heem, one of the greatest still-life painters of the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, brought particular brilliance to book still-lifes.
Dreamcatcher at Walker Art Center

Honoring History with Edgar Heap of Birds’s Building Minnesota

Prior to discussions about appropriation art, artist Hock E Aye Vi (Hachivi) Edgar Heap of Birds honored the 40 executed Dakota men in "Building Minnesota."
Marian Beyonce

Beyoncé, the Virgin Mary, and the Power of Imagery

Why did Beyoncé pose as the Virgin Mary in her pregnancy and birth announcements? Learn about her art historical referents and iconic portraiture here.
SF MOMA text art project

A Museum in the Palm of your Hand

SFMOMA recently made headlines with its digital campaign to make art go viral with their Send Me SFMOMA project — but what museum exhibits came before this?
Kate Lingley

Kate Lingley and the Art History of China

Looking for an insider’s view of life in academia? We interviewed Kate Lingley, a Professor in the Art Department at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Pope Francis Sistine Chapel

How Pope Francis Will Redefine Art at the Vatican

Inaugurated in 2013, Pope Francis has been full of surprises and has redefined the papacy, including the ways in which he considers the power of art.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Knowledge and Nostalgia at the Museum: From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler imagines the museum as a site of hands-on learning and intimacy with the past.
Refugee child reading Superman

Why Art Historians Still Ignore Comics

In recent history comic art has crossed boundaries to enter other mediums. So why aren't art historians paying more attention?
Marina Abramovic

How Virtual Reality Could Change the Art World

Acute Art is a kind virtual reality marketed directly to artists. Marina Abramović, Olafur Eliasson, and Jeff Koons have been the first to try it out.